The stream that once flowed beneath Barranco’s late-19th-century wooden Bridge of Sighs (free, 24hr) dried up long ago, but the romantic bridge continues luring love-struck couples.
Love Is in the Air
A popular meeting point for discreet lovers and courting couples at the start of the 20th century, the bridge was named in reference to such breathless wooing but also inspired by Venice’s own Bridge of Sighs. Local legend tells that those who hold their breath while making the 44m crossing will have their wish granted.
Chabuca Granda & La Ermita
Stroll across the bridge towards its northern end to meet iconic musica criolla singer and composer Chabuca Granda, in effigy form. Peruvian poets and writers such as Julio Ramon Ribeyero had found inspiration in the bridge, but Granda immortalized it in her eponymous song from 1960.
Nearby is La Ermita, a 19th-century adobe church whose cheery yellow paint job can’t distract from its dilapidated roof. Lima’s trash-eating gallinazos (American vultures) frequent the Historical Monument’s structure.
Bajada de los Baños
Snap a photo with Jade Rivera’s heartfelt mural as you wind down the stairway at the southern end of the bridge to reach Bajada de los Baños. Used by fishermen in the 19th century, the Yuyos Beach–destined pathway is a thriving route of galleries, shops, restaurants and live music hotspots like Gato Tulipan.
